This article aims to give you the basics of social media for home based businesses and an introduction to social media itself.
Social media refers to sites that allow social interaction and focus on the building of friendship/follower networks. There are a growing number of these sites, each with their own characteristics, but the main sites are: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Squidoo. There are others and popularity rankings can change very quickly. For instance, MySpace was the most popular a few years ago, but has now been dwarfed by Facebook.
There are roughly two types of users on these sites, individuals and businesses. MySpace is popular with visual and recording artists, Twitter is popular with a whole range of businesses who are looking to network with new and existing customers and Facebook allows businesses to create their own business page.
All of these sites are user friendly and joining is not difficult for even the most techno-phobe amongst us. Once you have your profile, make sure that you include all the information that is required to make you appear both human and professional. Include a photo, if possible, as everyone likes to see who they are talking to! If you have a business, include a professional looking photo (not the one of you on a drunken night out with friends for example).
Most importantly, make sure that you write a good biography and include your website link and contact details such as an email address.
If you want to have a business page on Facebook you will need to create a personal profile first, then add a business page which will be linked. Friends from your personal profile can then sign up to become friends of your business page.
Squidoo can seem a little daunting at first as it operates slightly differently, however it is a great platform for letting the world know your area of expertise. It is a little like an article site, in that you provide factual information in the form of a 'lens'. You can include links, affiliations to various sites, photos and text. Plus the rankings on Google are reasonably good.
Once you are up and running you can add links from one site to the other so that you have one integrated network. Invite your friends/followers to join you on each of your other sites to increase your overall following.
When you start making posts don't be tempted to go for the hard sell. Nothing is more off-putting than a continual stream of spam and you will quickly lose your network if you do this. Instead, pass on useful information connected to your business, or industry. Provide useful links. Share quotations that made you feel inspired (remember to quote the source though). Allow people to get to know you and what you are about.
Build relationships with your network and it will pay dividends over time. Take an interest in the people that are interested in you. Comment on their posts and/or photos. Share, build rapport.
In summary, social media can provide a network of people that are interested in who you are and what you do. Used correctly it should be a valuable tool in your marketing efforts for many years to come.
Viewer advisory: This program contains explicit language. Wine Library TV's Gary Vaynerchuk gives his no-holds-barred take on how modern businesses must adapt to thrive in a social media-driven culture. ----- On November 5, L2 and NYU Stern hosted its second-annual Innovation Forum at The Morgan Library in New York City. The full-day event addressed innovation in digital marketing and implications for prestige brands. L2 Forums are the largest gatherings of prestige professionals in North America. Forums draw C-level executives and top marketing and digital talent from prestige brands; leading agencies, media, and technology firms; and innovators and academics. In addition, 25 percent of seats are reserved for students from the nation's top business and arts graduate programs. Gary Vaynerchuk was born in Babruysk, USSR (today Belarus) on November 14, 1975 and emigrated to the US in 1978. He graduated from Mount Ida College in Newton, MA. From a platform as co-owner and Director of Operations of Wine Library, a wine retail shop in Springfield, New Jersey, Vaynerchuk gained fame as the host of Wine Library TV, a daily internet webcast on the subject of wine. Called the "king of social media", he is one of the first Facebook users to max out his friend limit, with over 17000 pending friend requests. He is in the top 100 people followed on Twitter and was the keynote speaker at events like the 2009 South by Southwest Interactive conference and the New Media and Web 2.0 expos. Video Rating: 4 / 5
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